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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “product sorting”

wp.org orders by popularity, so a plugin a host bundled onto millions of sites, or a big-brand one that's slow and mediocre, can sit at the top. Our ranking is built to answer a different question: which of these is actually worth installing. How this works →

For “product sorting”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 8 plugins are pushed down for signals wp.org ignores: errors, a host-installed base, or removal risk.

wp.org search ranks on

Install count (uncapped), the raw star average, freshness, and support. Popularity dominates, so the biggest install base usually wins regardless of how it got there.

We add

A cap on the install boost, volume-weighted ratings, and signals wp.org can't see: whether it throws errors on current PHP, whether the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Unstoppable Product Sorting for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #6 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 60+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Simple Custom Post Order places #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 587 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy 600K+ · 5.0★ (4625) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Extra Product Sorting Options for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.6★ (31) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 Product Filter for WooCommerce by WBW 50K+ · 4.8★ (325) wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too low 4 Product Bundle Builder for WooCommerce 6K+ · 4.8★ (61) wp.org #3 ↑1 1 too high 5 Product Table & List Builder for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.9★ (254) wp.org #9 4 too low 6 Product Table for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.8★ (295) wp.org #7 1 too low 7 Product Customer List for WooCommerce 9K+ · 4.9★ (75) wp.org #11 4 too low 8 Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (587) wp.org #22 ↓8 14 too low 9 More Sorting Options for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.3★ (11) wp.org #5 ↓2 4 too high 10 Ultimate Product Catalog 4K+ · 4.5★ (233) wp.org #13 3 too low 11 WowStore – Store Builder & Product Blocks for WooCommerce 4K+ · 4.6★ (113) wp.org #12 1 too low 12 Rearrange Products for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.6★ (58) wp.org #10 ↓2 2 too high 13 Advanced Product Labels for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.8★ (252) wp.org #17 ↑1 4 too low 14 Product Attachment for WooCommerce 6K+ · 4.5★ (24) wp.org #8 ↑2 6 too high 15 Product Gallery Slider, Additional Variation Images, Product Video, Product Image Zoom and Lightbox for WooCommerce – Reno Product Gallery (formerly WooGallery) 20K+ · 4.9★ (162) wp.org #19 ↑1 4 too low 16 Product SKU Generator for WooCommerce 8K+ · 4.9★ (20) wp.org #15 ↑1 1 too high 17 Advanced AJAX Product Filters 50K+ · 4.7★ (387) wp.org #24 ↓5 7 too low 18 Variation Images Gallery for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.7★ (39) wp.org #23 5 too low 19 WCAPF – Ajax Product Filter for WooCommerce 8K+ · 4.3★ (44) wp.org #14 ↑1 5 too high 20 Product Layouts for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #18 ↓6 2 too high 21 Dynamic AJAX Product Filters for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #16 ↑1 5 too high 22 Currency per Product for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.1★ (17) wp.org #21 1 too high 23 Unstoppable Product Sorting for WooCommerce 60+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #6 17 too high 24 Regenerate product lookup table for WooCommerce 300+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #20 ↑1 4 too high

Merit ranking caps the install boost at 1M (wp.org leaves it uncapped), replaces the raw star average with a volume-weighted Bayesian score and a Wilson lower bound, and keeps wp.org's own freshness and compatibility decays. Method from the plugin-directory source; see Meta Trac #8298. Positions are tracked daily from the first visit to a keyword, so the small arrows show movement since tracking began.